By SHERRY ROBINSON, St. Petersburg Times

By now the world has heard of Twitter - the short posts of 140 or fewer characters that tell your friends and followers everything that you are doing, seeing or thinking.
Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey are probably the most-read Twitterers. What might surprise you is that some folks are tweeting even if they are only characters in movies or on TV.

By now the world has heard of Twitter - the short posts of 140 or fewer characters that tell your friends and followers everything that you are doing, seeing or thinking.
Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey are probably the most-read Twitterers. What might surprise you is that some folks are tweeting even if they are only characters in movies or on TV.

Anything that happens to the queen of media, Oprah Winfrey, is big news. So when one of her newly adopted cocker spaniel puppies died just days after she had gotten him, we all were curious to know what happened. Ivan and his sister Sadie were introduced on her show about a week ago.

With the economy in tatters, Santa might bring a little less than in years past. But just in case parents want to give the jolly ol' elf some tips, we have taken the guesswork out by testing a handful of the top toys of the season.

Katrina Hollon of St. Petersburg, Fla. had an epiphany when her second child, a daughter, was born. "My second child was born with peanut allergies, which changed my idea of heading back off to work anytime soon,'' said Hollon, 38, who was a teacher at the time.

Another summer blockbuster, another gaggle of toys. This time it's the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," that gives kids a chance to play the Caped Crusader. After seeing the reviews, it does appear that the toys will be all that you will want your tots and preteens to see of this movie. But some of the toys are lots of fun.